Box Office Recap-January 31st, 2011

According to ew.com, the Anthony Hopkins exorcism thriller The Rite took 1st place at the box office this weekend with just over 15 million. No Strings Attached provided additional counter programming to this weeks new releases and used that to stay in second place with over 13 million. The other new wide release, Jason Statham's The Mechanic, pulled in over 11 million. The 11 million opening for The Mechanic sounds dismal, but its on par with Statham's Transporter films first weekend grosses. The Green Hornet stayed strong in 4th place. And in 5th place was The King's Speech which used its Academy Award nominations to boost its box office. Other big award contenders The Fighter, Black Swan, and True Grit all used recent awards to boost ticket sales. Next week The Rite faces some steep competition with both Sanctum and The Roommate opening, both aiming for the same audience The Rite garnered this week. 

-Maximus